"Are you that impulsive?"
Lam Pham asked. Wanting to fight at the drop of a hat, so straightforward, truly a strange Creator, filled with a sense of novelty.
The Creator said: "Can you let me go?"
Lam Pham shook his head and said: "I can't."
"Then that's just nonsense. If you won't let me go, I can only fight you." The Creator was indeed nervous inside. Lam Pham's fierce reputation was known to most Creators.
The other's evolution speed was even faster than their own.
It had even formed a wide gulf between them.
It was absolutely not something that could be so easily leaped over.
"Come on," the Creator swung its bone spear, roaring with the imposing aura of an ancient general. Just as it was about to go all out, it was interrupted by Lam Pham.
"Please wait a moment, can I take a picture of you?" Lam Pham requested.
The Creator said: "The Creators in the <
The Creator struck a pose, head held high, chest out. Its large body stood as tall as a small mountain, the bone spear in its hand radiating a cold aura.
To this Creator, it seemed to have already figured out what its own end would be.
It no longer thought of any way out.
"You... alright."
Lam Pham raised his camera and aimed the lens at the Creator. And just as he was about to take the shot, the Creator in the lens suddenly raised its bone spear and thrust it viciously towards Lam Pham's head.
"You're really treacherous."
Lam Pham calmly stepped back, pressed the shutter, and perfectly captured the Creator's appearance.
"All warfare is based on deception. I'll kill you."
The Creator roared, the bone spear swinging with a whooshing sound, its speed extremely fast, as if countless bone spears were thrusting out at once. This was the afterimage effect that occurred when speed reached a certain level.
Lam Pham faced it very calmly, not flustered in the slightest. However, this Creator was a bit different from the ones he had met before. The other Creators' killing moves were either tentacles or just punches that landed with a thud. He had never seen a zombie that used systematic spear techniques.
Just as Lam Pham thought, it was indeed systematic. When this Creator was still human, it loved to watch all kinds of ancient war dramas, which had countless scenes of famous generals dueling.
An ordinary person would definitely not be able to learn it.
But after evolving into a Creator, its learning ability was unimaginable. When its own physical qualities reached a certain height, any high-difficulty move could be grasped with ease, without any difficulty.
This was the current situation.
Lam Pham stepped back while checking the photo he had taken. Overall, it was perfect, extremely satisfying.
He put away the camera, looked up at the situation, and didn't kill the Creator instantly. Instead, he stopped, stood his ground, raised his finger, and constantly clashed with the other's bone spear.
Even though the Creator's bone spear swung at its maximum speed, it was still easily blocked by Lam Pham.
This was the Creator's maximum speed, but not Lam Pham's.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The Creator was getting a little impatient. While continuously swinging the bone spear, its already sturdy arms suddenly swelled, and its speed and strength increased sharply, at least twice as fast as just now.
But even so, the dense spear afterimages were still easily blocked by Lam Pham.
"You are truly a relatively powerful Creator. Your speed and strength are definitely not something an Awakened can contend with. Even if Van Van encountered you, she would have no chance of defeating you."
Lam Pham muttered his critique to himself.
The Creator, unable to land a hit on Lam Pham, was breathing heavily. Then, with a low roar, it leaped up, gripping the bone spear with both hands and bringing it down fiercely, with the force to split a mountain.
Lam Pham shifted his footing slightly, dodged, and his hand, which seemed to be pushing casually towards the Creator's chest, was an effortless move that the Creator found impossible to block.
Its large body was like a cannonball, sent flying backwards.
Like a leather ball, it rolled continuously on the ground.
The Creator stood up, shook its head, and looked down at its chest. The flesh armor it was proud of had a sunken palm print.
Lam Pham landed in front of the Creator and said with a smile, "You're very strong."
Although it was very weak in front of him.
This Creator was truly very strong compared to others. He wasn't just praising it; he was speaking the truth.
The Creator stared at Lam Pham, a kind of helplessness in its fierce eyes. It had always heard that the human Lam Pham was very strong. To be honest, it believed these words were true.
But it still wondered, just how strong could an insignificant human be?
Now, after a brief battle, it was completely convinced. It had unleashed its strongest power, yet it had no effect at all. This was enough to make it despair.
"As a Creator with intelligence, can you tell me where the other Creators are? I think we can have a good chat," Lam Pham still hoped the other party would tell him.
The Creator said: "Only the weak would beg for mercy from humans."
Lam Pham: . . .
He felt that this Creator spoke a bit strangely. "It's not begging for mercy, but a friendly exchange. I have always been very friendly to zombies. You can see that when I face you, I have always maintained a friendly exchange with a smile on my face."
The Creator looked at the swaths of zombie corpses that had been cut in half.
Friendly?
If this was a friendly exchange, then such a result was to be expected.
Lam Pham noticed the Creator's gaze and said helplessly, "You are an intelligent zombie. You caused the situation just now. If they could have a friendly exchange with me, I don't think I would have cleaned them up."
The Creator really didn't expect that among humans, there would be such a person who would slaughter countless zombies with extremely cruel methods and then shift all the blame onto it.
Were those words a human could say?
"Detestable human, do you take me for a fool?" The Creator tightened its grip on the bone spear, its gloomy gaze fixed on Lam Pham. "Wanting me to betray more Creators? You're dreaming. You insignificant humans will one day be completely wiped out by us, and then there will be no one left."
"Go to hell."
After speaking, it raised its bone spear and continued to charge at Lam Pham.
It didn't want to die, but all of this was no longer under its control. When faced with an unavoidable outcome, attacking without hesitation was the best choice.
As a Creator, it would never abandon the dignity of a Creator.
It would defend it with its life at the final critical moment.
"Another wrong choice." Lam Pham shook his head. Facing the incoming bone spear, he was not flustered at all. He had gradually figured out the situation of this Creator. Its physical skills were very strong, not as flashy as other Creators, but truly powerful.
Crack!
The Creator was horrified. The bone spear in its hand seemed to be under some kind of suppression. Cracks appeared, and it exploded piece by piece, turning into fragments that scattered on the ground.
It looked up and saw the human before it slowly raising an arm, his five fingers closed together, looking like a sharp blade.
Swish!
The hand-blade fell cleanly.
Puff!
The Creator looked in disbelief at its severed arms. Immediately after, its body became unstable, and its sturdy thighs were also chopped off. Without support, it crashed to the ground.
Lam Pham stood in front of the Creator, looking down at it. "You are not bad, but there is still a huge gap between you and me. My question is still the same as before. Can you agree to help? For example, help me introduce the other Creators. I think I will be very grateful to you."
The Creator looked at the human who was always smiling. He looked friendly.
But in its eyes, that smile represented ferocity.
Lying in a pool of blood, the Creator looked up at the sky, ignoring Lam Pham.
"Haha..."
As if thinking of something funny, the Creator couldn't help but let out a gloomy laugh.
The body with its four limbs severed gradually began to swell. The sudden situation made Lam Pham couldn't help but show a surprised expression.
It seemed like something was stirring inside this Creator's body. With a puff, a blood sac on its chest burst, and a large amount of viscous blood and unknown tissues continuously poured out.
"Are you letting yourself go, starting to mutate?"
Lam Pham muttered. Among zombies, Creators were already a very high-level type. Their evolution was already tending towards perfection compared to other zombies. However, mutation was also a kind of evolution, just that the direction of this evolution was unimaginable.
"Detestable human, I will make you pay dearly for this," the Creator roared, then let out a strange, gloomy laugh.
After the Creator said this.
It no longer looked like it did before. Its body was covered by the viscous flesh and blood that poured out from within, as well as various abnormal organ tissues, embedded together without any rules.
In an instant.
The once-fine Creator was now completely disfigured, thoroughly becoming a monster of minced meat in the apocalypse.
"Sigh, what a pity. To give up your own perfect evolutionary form and develop in this direction, what was the need for that..." Lam Pham felt regret for the Creator, but the path was chosen by it. No matter what, it had to persevere.
"I respect your choice. You are a zombie, I am a human. You once belonged to the same race as me, but now you have your own race. So... goodbye. The future will definitely be beautiful."
He held Frostmourne and swung it down fiercely. For a Creator that had turned into this form, where the crystal was no longer mattered.
Puff!
The continuously expanding Creator met with a devastating blow. Its flesh exploded piece by piece. The blade of Frostmourne touched the Creator's crystal, and in an instant, the crystal shattered, its energy absorbed.
"It's over."
Lam Pham lightly swung Frostmourne. Suddenly, he looked at the divine weapon in his hand in amazement. Its surface flowed with a brilliant light, much more dazzling than before.
In the unseen, there seemed to be a feeling.
Clang!
He stabbed the Frostmourne in his hand into the ground. In an instant, a wave of energy spread out in all directions with Frostmourne as the center.
"This is..."
Lam Pham's eyes widened. He looked at the ground, and in an instant, the ground was covered with thick ice, continuously spreading outwards, with the momentum of freezing a thousand miles.
"Stop..."
Lam Pham had a premonition that he could control the Frostmourne in his hand, moving it with his thoughts. He looked ahead. The surrounding zombie corpses were already frozen, looking very brilliant, sparkling under the sunlight.
"Shatter."
Lam Pham said softly. With a crack, the frozen corpses instantly exploded, turning into countless scattered snowflakes. Seeing this situation, a happy smile appeared on his face.
"This will make cleaning up zombie corpses much more convenient in the future."
He raised Frostmourne and gently stroked it. A trace of coldness traveled from his fingertips deep into his heart.
"Why would I suddenly have such an ability?" Lam Pham was very puzzled. "Or is it that the once positive-energy-filled divine weapon, Frostmourne, after absorbing countless crystals, has undergone some kind of evolution in its essence, thus gaining this ability?"
But why ice?
Was it because of the name, or... forget it, he couldn't figure it out, nor did he know the reason.
Could it be that it had absorbed too many crystals and finally, various abilities appeared randomly?
That could be it.
But what the specific situation was, how would he know?
He walked up to Duong Mai and the others and saw them with their mouths wide open, standing there dumbfounded, as if they had been hit by a petrifying spell.
"Hey, wake up." Lam Pham waved his hand in front of them, telling them to wake up quickly, not to be dazed. "It's all over. You are safe. I told you before, you don't need to worry. Isn't it just as I said?"
"Ah..."
"Uh..."
Duong Mai and Lo Kinh came to their senses.
They looked around in a daze.
"It's over?"
They clearly saw it with their own eyes, but they still couldn't quite believe it.
It was too shocking. Even when seen with one's own eyes, one always thought, "a dream, it's all a dream, how could this be real?"
They looked at the man in front of them, finding it hard to imagine that this ordinary-looking, not-so-strong man could be so powerful. It was truly incredible.
Lam Pham said: "I haven't cleaned up the southern cities yet. The situation outside is much more dangerous than you imagine. Trust me, follow me back to the Sunshine Shelter first. It's too dangerous for you to be outside."
He knew there was still a lot for him to do.
He wasn't the only one cleaning up the apocalypse; many others were also cleaning up zombies. But compared to their numbers and the number of zombies outside, it was simply incomparable.
A grain of sand in the desert.
But no matter what, he would not give up easily.
At this point, how could Duong Mai and the others not see the problem? Without a second thought, they agreed.
After they left.
In the mysterious distance, a zombie stealthily spied on everything, firmly imprinting the scenes in its mind. Without any sense of fear, it hurriedly left.
There was conflict among the zombies. This kind of conflict had nothing to do with ordinary evolved-type zombies.
Only Creators could trigger conflict.
. . .
Sunshine Shelter.
Research Institute.
Lam Pham met with Professor Ha. The change in Frostmourne was something for the professor to ponder the principles behind.
At this moment, Professor Ha looked at the Frostmourne in front of him, then at Lam Pham. Having seen Frostmourne's ability, his brows were furrowed. It could freeze, and its hardness was very high.
It was a bit incredible.
He really wanted to say to Lam Pham... "Little Pham, I'm a scientific researcher, not a researcher of supernatural abilities."
But he didn't say it.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but what was happening now, could it still be explained by science?
"Little Pham."
"Hmm?" Lam Pham waited expectantly, wanting to see what Professor Ha would say. He believed in Professor Ha's wisdom. If he didn't have wisdom, could he have achieved what he had now?
Professor Ha said: "In the early days of the apocalypse, I thought this might be a virus, a super-virus that covered the entire globe, altering human genes. But later, with the appearance of crystals and Awakened ones, things were no longer caused by a virus. Look at the many types of abilities of the Awakened, but what they all need are crystals."
"Mm." Lam Pham listened.
"Do you know how many crystals your Frostmourne has absorbed?"
"I don't know, too many." How would he know how many it had absorbed? Ever since he got Frostmourne, he had used it to chop zombies. He would often chop them from head to toe, shattering the crystal along with them. Later, he needed to collect crystals for them to use, but even so, it had still absorbed a lot.
Professor Ha said: "So I think, Frostmourne, right? The reason it has its current ability is probably because the absorbed crystals have changed its internal structure, giving it new abilities."
Lam Pham thought for a moment, "That makes a lot of sense. I think that's probably the case."
Professor Ha smiled and said: "Little Pham, this is just my speculation. The specific situation is hard to say. After all, this aspect is a bit beyond my scope of knowledge. I can only speculate a little based on what has happened."
"Professor Ha, don't be so modest. I think you're right," Lam Pham said with a smile.
At this time, Professor Ha thought of something and said: "I have been in contact with Thu Nguyet. Her situation is a bit problematic. Before the appearance of Mutants, I didn't know if Thu Nguyet's changes were normal or abnormal. With the appearance of Mutants, they would allow genetic mutations to cause all sorts of abnormal changes in their bodies, eventually becoming an irreversible state. And Thu Nguyet's hands and eyes also show changes in shape during battle. I think this is the beginning of genetic mutation, but it's fine now. I have reminded her that no matter what happens, she must not try to induce genetic mutation."
Hearing Professor Ha mention this.
Lam Pham's expression became grave. Professor Quy, as a woman, had great decisiveness. In order to deal with zombies, she had truly dedicated a lot, risking her life to fuse herself with lucky cells.
She clearly could have, like Professor Ha, come to the Sunshine Shelter for a safe research life.
But she didn't choose that path.
"It's good that you've reminded her. I really hope nothing happens to her. The situation outside now is not as safe as imagined, even much more complicated than before," Lam Pham said.
Professor Ha nodded, then pulled Lam Pham aside to a screen. On the screen were data and some images he didn't quite understand.
"Little Pham, look. This is all under satellite surveillance."
Professor Ha pointed at the images and said: "During this time, I have carefully studied the current situation. It's not as good as imagined. In our country, because of your existence, large areas of zombies have been cleaned up. You are also thinking of cleaning up all the zombies, and then everything will be safe, right?"
Lam Pham said: "Yes. Although this process is difficult, I believe that as long as I persevere, I can definitely do it."
When talking about this, he appeared very confident, because he had such a belief, believing that he could definitely do it.
"Sigh." Professor Ha sighed. "Before, I didn't say anything because I felt it was good for you to have such a belief. But as you continue to clean up, I believe that one day you will definitely be able to do it. But you have to think about it. The whole world is now full of zombies, and our country shares land borders with fourteen countries. You should know what I mean."
Lam Pham's expression suddenly became grave.
He understood in an instant.
That's right, there were fourteen neighboring countries. What was the situation in those countries?
He could basically understand without even thinking.
They would definitely be occupied by zombies.
The evolution of zombies was too fast, already beyond the imagination of ordinary people. He believed that those countries definitely had Awakened ones, but having Awakened ones didn't mean they could defeat the zombies.
So what would the final result be? It was possible that zombies evolved to the Creator or even higher stages would, knowing that there was no point in staying where they were, lead a zombie army across national borders. It was not impossible.
This was all very likely to happen.
"I know. The road is still long. There is still a lot for me to do," Lam Pham lamented.
But he was not intimidated.
He just wanted to clean up all the zombies.
He would absolutely not be scared by the number of zombies.
He believed in himself, and also in the Frostmourne in his hand.
Professor Ha saw Lam Pham's determined gaze and knew that he was not intimidated. To have such a person protecting the Sunshine Shelter was truly a fortunate thing.
"Little Pham, take it slow. Don't be anxious." Professor Ha didn't want to see Lam Pham too tired. He had already done so well; there was really no need to keep working so hard.
Lam Pham said: "Mm, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
. . .
Night.
The night was very dark, covered by thick dark clouds, without a glimpse of the moon. But the current Hoang City was no longer the pitch-black place it was at the beginning of the apocalypse as soon as night fell.
Now, every household in the Sunshine Shelter had their lights on, full of the breath of life.
At this moment.
Lao Chung and the others had already reached the fifth stage of Awakened, and were working hard to advance to the sixth stage.
When they advanced to the sixth stage.
Their strength would be a qualitative leap.
What did it feel like to swallow a crystal? For the Awakened in the Sunshine Shelter, it might have been a bit strange at the beginning, but they gradually got used to it, even feeling that their throats seemed to have expanded a bit.
Instantly.
A happy expression appeared on Lao Chung's face. He clenched his fists, and the muscles all over his body, as if alive, constantly trembled. In an instant, everything vanished.
"Sixth stage."
Advancing to the sixth stage required twenty brown crystals.
At that time, the shelter was lacking crystals of this color.
So he had not been able to advance.
"It feels so good, my whole body is filled with a kind of power. This increase in strength can allow me to better protect the Sunshine Shelter." Lao Chung had no other thoughts. The reason he was so eager to increase his ability was just to protect the Sunshine Shelter, to protect the people he cared about.
He took out his mobile phone, wanting to share this good news with the group.
As soon as he opened the group chat.
He found that the chat was buzzing with activity.
All the messages were two words: "Congratulations" and "Envy."
"Did someone have some good news?" Lao Chung was very curious and scrolled up the chat history.
They were all identical congratulations.
So annoying, his fingers were about to break from scrolling.
Finally, he scrolled to what it was about.
"Chu Duong: Through my painstaking efforts, my ability has finally advanced to the fourth stage. To be honest, I can feel my own strength has become stronger. I will continue to work hard and make my own contribution to everyone's safety (smiley face)."
So it was this matter.
The Awakened living in the Sunshine Shelter were very happy. They had never lacked crystals.
Although he didn't know what kind of treatment the Awakened outside had.
But he could be sure that those Awakened outside definitely could not have the same treatment as them.
Lao Chung pressed the screen, just about to send a congratulatory message.
Someone else sent a message in the group.
"Quan Hao: Brother Chu, congratulations! I've also advanced to the fourth stage (hehe)."
"Chu Duong: So fast?"
On the other side of the screen, Chu Duong was a bit dazed.
When he was an Awakened, Quan Hao was still an ordinary person.
How could he be at the fourth stage, the same as him, so quickly?
"Quan Hao: Not at all. I've been gnawing on crystals to level up every day. I was even thinking if it was a bit slow (scratching head)."
"Chu Duong: . . ."
He found it a bit hard to accept this situation.
Wasn't this leveling up a bit too fast?
It was so fast it was a little scary.
With Quan Hao's appearance.
Everyone started congratulating Quan Hao again.
"So everyone is leveling up so fast." Lao Chung lamented. This was development. It was really not easy for the Sunshine Shelter to develop from a small number of people to what it was now.
"Dam Thanh: Not bad. I've already advanced to the sixth stage."
"Truong Ung: Brother Dam, you're amazing! You leveled up so fast."
"Dam Thanh: Not at all. It's all because Lam Pham prepared sufficient crystals. Even a pig, with so many crystals to use, could advance to this stage."
Dam Thanh had the most proficient control over his own power.
He understood that the change in ability level was truly earth-shattering. Without experiencing it personally, it was impossible to imagine. The gap between the fifth and sixth stages was huge.
To put it simply, he, at the sixth stage, could one-shot his former fifth-stage self.
Even if it wasn't a one-shot, he could take his life within ten moves at most.
This was the gap.
"Lao Chung: Congratulations. Our Sunshine Shelter will be even safer in the future."
Seeing his companions' abilities all greatly improved, Lao Chung's happiness came from the bottom of his heart.
They had always been helped and protected by Lam Pham. They didn't want to become useless trash who did nothing, especially since they themselves had abilities, and their abilities had all been raised to this stage.
Although they couldn't deal with terrifying zombies like Creators.
But dealing with zombies below the brown crystal level was definitely not a problem.
"Dam Thanh: Lao Chung, has your ability also been upgraded?"
Dam Thanh knew how hardworking Lao Chung was.
He had always been thinking about improving his ability, and when learning how to control his power from him, Lao Chung was also extremely hardworking and serious.
Therefore.
No matter what.
Dam Thanh always believed that Lao Chung's ability had definitely been upgraded as well.
Seeing Dam Thanh's question in the group chat.
Lao Chung smiled and could only type a reply.
"Lao Chung: Mm, I've also advanced to the sixth stage."
In an instant.
The group members frantically typed.
"666..."
"Worshipping the big boss."
"Serving tea to the big boss."
"Massaging the big bosses' legs."
"Begging to hug the big boss's thigh hair."
Faced with this situation, the honest Lao Chung could only smile to himself and send a fist-clasping emoji.
"Lao Chung: Let's work hard together."
Everyone was happy for each other's improvement.
Because this represented that the shelter was even safer, and their hopes for the future were brighter, more dazzling, full of brilliant light.
At this moment.
Lam Pham sat at his computer desk, looking at the messages in the group chat.
A happy smile appeared on his face.
Really not bad.
This was what he was most willing to see. As the people in the shelter continued to become stronger, in the future, they could also hold their own. Even if he wasn't there, they would have the ability to clean up any attacking zombies.
And he just needed to continue cleaning up the zombies outside.
He put down his phone.
He organized the photos he had taken today.
As he organized, he thought about Duong Mai's situation. They had been separated from their companions. As for whether their companions were alive or dead, he didn't know. They might have all died tragically in the mouths of zombies.
But he still wanted to go over there and continue to take a look. There were just too many places that needed to be cleaned up now. He didn't need to do it step by step, cleaning up one place at a time.
If there was a place where there was a possibility of survivors being alive.
He was willing to focus his efforts there.
A moment later.
After handling all the necessary matters.
He unfolded a world map, spread it out on the table, looked at the contents on the map, touched his chin, and fell into deep thought. The east and south were close to the sea. The other places were connected to other countries.
He had probably never been to those places before.
It could be said... those places were simply a paradise for zombies.
With no one to stop their evolution and development, what would they evolve into in the end?
He couldn't imagine, but the only thing that was certain was... it would definitely be very terrifying, even more terrifying than the zombies he had experienced so far.
Thinking of this, a sense of worry arose in his heart.
He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold on.
That he wouldn't be a match for those zombies.
"No, how can I have such thoughts? Everyone has placed their hopes on me. If I fall, the hope they have worked so hard to build will collapse."
"I must become stronger, even more powerful."
Lam Pham's gaze was extremely resolute. If Professor Ha hadn't mentioned this to him, he would definitely not have taken it to heart. But now... after Professor Ha's reminder.
His perspective was completely opened up.
He was no longer limited to his current scope.
He knew that there were still many enemies he had to face, and they would be even more terrifying.
Lam Pham looked at the Frostmourne placed by the door. Even without sunlight, it still flickered with light. The divine weapon, filled with positive energy, was his important companion in protecting humanity.
He stood up, walked to the bedside, lay down, and rested well. Tomorrow, he would continue to clean up, without delay. The Sunshine Shelter had them, and under normal circumstances, there would definitely be no problems.
He closed his eyes.
The sound of Co Hang and Duong Tue's conversation came to his ears.
"Sigh... is this what love is?"